Austin Wilmot graduated high school this year with a $50,000 salary, health benefits and a retirement plan, plus free corporate housing. His job? He plays video games for a new professional team called the Houston Outlaws.

The 19-year-old from Ohio spends 6 to 8 hours a day in practice matches for the game Overwatch, a team-based shooting spree in which players control virtual characters wielding guns, lasers and ghost dragons. He spends another 2 to 6 hours analyzing moves with coaches or creating video content for followers through social media.

He does it all as a member of the Outlaws, a far-flung team of players representing the city of Houston in a new international competition called the Overwatch League.

The multimillion-dollar industry of competitive electronic sports, or esports, has reached a critical point in its global development. It's also got Houston poised to become a hub for players and fans alike, adding a virtual element to an already strong professional sports landscape.

"Esports is another dot in the pointillist picture of Houston as a sports city," Greater Houston Partnership economist Patrick Jankowski said.

For 2017, industry analysis company Newzoo valued the esports economy at $696 million. Companies like Airbus, the aeronautics giant, are now sponsoring esports franchises. The International Olympic Committee, in partnership with Intel, will host a tournament in Korea leading up to the 2018 Winter Games and has announced plans to explore further involvement with esports.

Next month, the video game development company Blizzard Entertainment will launch the inaugural preseason of its Overwatch League. It will be the first pro esports league pitting 12 city-based franchises against each other. The Houston Outlaws are owned by the Dallas-based video game company, OpTic Gaming.

Outlaws investors include Texas Rangers co-owner Neil Leibman. Other major franchise investors in the league include New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, retired NBA star Shaquille O'Neal and singer and actress Jennifer Lopez.

Franchise entrance fees totaled $20 million, according to multiple media reports. A Blizzard spokesman declined to confirm that figure but directed the Chronicle to the earlier reports. Teams will have a chance to win up to $3.5 million in performance bonuses.

Competitions during the inaugural season will be in Burbank, Calif., but the goal is eventually to send the players back to their teams' respective cities so franchise owners can host local events and perhaps even open their own arenas.

OpTic Gaming already has announced expansion plans that include a Houston office.

The Overwatch League is not the only movement in the gaming field. Sebastian Park, director of esports development for the Houston Rockets, said the hometown NBA team will soon announce its own esports initiatives that heavily revolve around the city of Houston.

Park said Houston, with one of the country's fastest growing millennial populations, is an ideal market for esports companies and the advertisers and sponsors they attract.

The industry appeals particularly to men, ages 21 to 35, as either players or fans.

Top-ranked players can generate six-figure annual incomes through a combination of competition prize pools and endorsement deals. Much of the personal branding is shaped through videos, with players filming themselves playing a game while providing commentary or answering fan questions.

"It's not uncommon for you to see them signing autographs," said Ryan Musselman, president of OpTic Gaming.

Recently, the industry has been leaning toward a salary system where players are legally recognized as employees with benefits, further solidifying the potential for careers, said Bettina Cornwell, a University of Oregon marketing professor.

For the Outlaws' Wilmot, the Overwatch League's player payroll finally got his mother to accept his decision to go pro full-time rather than pursuing a college degree.

"She was on my case for two months," he said.

He currently resides in a Burbank apartment complex, paid for by the Houston Outlaws, with a five-minute commute to the training studio.

Nicholas Johnson, 20, a sophomore and computer science major at the University of Houston, aspires to turn pro one day as well. For now, though, he said he competes in collegiate esports tournaments primarily to help finance his education.

Johnson is a coordinator at the UH esports student club, leading a team for the game Heroes of the Storm. Next year he plans to enter the tournament called Heroes of the Dorm. The last prize pool covered three years' worth of tuition for each winning team member.

Johnson and his fellow esports enthusiasts also enjoy watching the pros play.

The UH club hosts tournament viewing parties where students cheer on favorite teams and players as virtual characters dart across the screen. Committed players can pick up tips and tricks, observing how one player's reaction time saves 0.02 seconds of gameplay that can make or break a battle. Casual players can revel in the amount of training and expertise needed to build up that speed and precision.

"It's an appreciation of skill," club president Jimmy Chan, 22, said.

Upon hearing of the Houston Outlaws - and enthused by the team's evocative logo with a star, longhorn skull and twin revolvers - the UH club is already planning viewing parties to cheer on the team.

Note: This story has been updated to clarify who pays for the players' housing.

Ileana Najarro covers race, labor and immigration. She formerly covered small business and the intersection of immigration and the economy. She previously interned at the Los Angeles Times, the Mexico City bureau of The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. She graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in Communication, Departmental Honors and Phi Beta Kappa distinction.